I finally finished my Tempting sweater! I had stalled out on it because I really didn’t like that bow around the neckline. I was looking around Ravelry the other night and I found the BEST mod for the neckline. Catherine worked out a pretty cable pattern for the neck. I just had to give it a shot.

Ignore my fat butt and my pasty white skin. I think it turned out great!

Take a closer look at the neck mod:

Pretty neat?? I had to cut short my neckline by a few inches because I was going to run out of yarn, so it’s definitely an off the shoulder type sweater. I’m considering doing this again with the cables on the hem and making long sleeves with the cables at the wrists.

Also..I have cast on a sock.

This is Mystical Creations sock yarn. I bought it back before the recent unpleasantness and I have tested it for bleeding. So far so good!

Tomorrow I’m getting a new washer and dryer delivered! I can’t wait! I have also been working on winding a new warp for my loom and have the last weaving photographed to show you. Maybe we can have Weaving Wednesday?

Until then….

Live to learn.

I wrote this essay for the Blue Hands Ravelry sock club contest. I didn’t win, but I thought I’d share it with you.

Ravelry

You wouldn’t think it, but sometimes a website has a HUGE effect on your life. Ravelry is one of those kinds of websites. Before Ravelry, I had been knitting avidly for about 4 years. I had learned to spin and had begun to learn to weave. Something was up though. My mojo was gone – kaput!. I’d cast on a project, and it would sit. I’d start a bobbin of lovely merino and go off and leave it. I just had absolutely no ambition anymore. I might finish something every now and then, but I just mostly piddled.

Then, I saw mention of this new website “Ravelry” on LiveJournal and a couple of other blogs and thought it sounded like a neat idea. I put myself on the waiting list sometime in April of 2007 (I think). I got my invitation and signed on June 15, 2007. (after my invitation being delayed due to having typo-ed my email address..OOPS!!).

Ravelry was in its infancy then. There were no “groups” and forums like we know them now. I worked on adding my projects and stash (if you can call it that!) to my notebook and checking out the patterns in the database at that time. When I saw my notebook and saw the projects listed there that were unfinished it was an eye opener. It really motivated me to take a close look at what I was working on. I got to work and finished some of the things, or re-evaluated and frogged things I really wasn’t happy with. It was a very liberating feeling to be able to accomplish things. One day I noticed that one of my projects had a little heart icon under it. Someone had picked it as a favorite! That felt really good for someone, a total stranger, to like something I had worked hard on. My queue is overflowing with projects that I want to make and I’m constantly searching the newly added patterns for more.

During this time, I also adopted a few pattern sources and became a volunteer editor. I enjoy working with the patterns and making sure the information is complete. On July 30^th, bunnysquirrel started the Ravelry Help! chatroom on lingr.com. Several of us would hang out in there and help new users or new invitees figure out how to make Ravelry work for them. Jess and Casey would be there too and we all worked together to ensure everyone who wanted could enjoy Ravelry with us. As we worked together, we all got to know each other and when the email load got too heavy for Casey and Jess they enlisted our help in answering email. I really felt honored that they would entrust me with this as well as with being a Sooper Editor on the site. I felt that I was doing my part to repay J&C for the wonderful website and community that they have given us. I enjoy working with people and hearing the joy and excitement in someone’s email when they get their invitation link to work just can’t be beat. I’m doing my small part to give back to the community that has given me so much.

Ravelry has given me so much more than giving me my craft mojo back. I have made some long lasting and great friendships. I have met some wonderful ladies (and gentlemen) and hope to meet many more. The Sooper Helpers are a tight knit (pun intended!) group and we help each other through our ups and downs. We’re there for each other. I got to meet one of my fellow helpers (AMG) in person, on a trip to the DFW metroplex. We got to hang out, have lunch and play with fiber and yarn. We even made a trip to world market. It was a blast! When my stepfather was killed in a car/motorcycle accident in October, they were there for me (and my mother) with well wishes and notes and just hugs when we needed them. We got cards in the mail and even some pretty yarn to pet and make us feel better. I wouldn’t give up these things for anything in the world, and just think; if it wasn’t for Ravelry, I’d probably not know these people.

Before Ravelry, I had made up a design for some fingerless mitts. I knit mine and showed them on my blog, but never made the effort to write the pattern down. Because of Ravelry, I got motivated to write the pattern down. At the urging of several of the other Ravelry Helpers, I also wrote up a pattern for a shrug and both of the patterns are now available on Ravelry as Free PDF downloads. I am also considering designing more things now. I hadn’t ever considered being a designer, but it looks like I am now.

I think it’s pretty amazing that our wonderful Ravelry was conceived and designed by one man and his wife. I’m doing my part to repay them for everything they have given the knitting and crochet community.

1.  What is your name?  Stephanie What is your quest?  to find the Grail..oh wait..wrong movie. Um… the quest for the perfect yarn. What is your favorite color? purple, no green, no purple..purple and green??

2.  When is your birthdate (year optional)? September 16 (same as Casey!)
3.  Do you have any special birthday traditions? We usually go out to eat
4.  What is your favorite birthday memory? Going to Hot Springs Arkansas and spending time in the old hotel and spa
5.  Any allergies we should know about? nope
6.  What crafts do you do - knit, crochet, spin, dye, bead, quilt, etc. etc. ? um.. yes and weaving, ok so I don’t quilt so much anymore, but I could
7.  Any sorts of fibers you particularly love or hate or are dying to work with? I’m not fond of mohair
8.  What weight of yarn do you prefer? sport or smaller, though I’m learning to love the larger yarns
9.  What are your favorite knitting accessories? (i.e.: stitch markers, row counters…) stitch markers
10.  Do you subscribe to any crafty magazines? no subscriptions, but I usually buy IK and Spin Off and if I can find it the UK Simply Knitting (or is that Creative Knitting?)
11.  What do collect aside from fiber-related things? live steel, medieval stuff, antiques, books
12.  Favorite candy, chocolate (dark, white, or milk), tea, coffee, other treats? I like candies like jelly belly’s and sour patch kids. For chocolate I like any kind. I do drink hot teas (I adore adagio.com) and I don’t drink coffee much
13.  Do you enjoy handmade soap and body products? yes please
14.  Are there any scents you love or hate? I can’t think of any
15.  What is your favorite: flavor, flower, letter, number, film, artist? flavor: grape flower: rose letter: um… no clue Film: Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels or Formula 51 artist: Holbein (you meant artist like painter/scupltor right?)
16.  Anything we should *not* get for you? Um…can’t think of a thing
17.  Do you have a blog and or wishlist that are not linked on Ravery or listed in the GoogleDoc? I think my only wish list is on amazon
18.  Anything special you would like your partner to know? Hey partner!! This will be fun!!

I haven’t gotten to do this lately, but I actually have the time and the project to post a WIP Wednesday project.

I’ve been working on this for a while, but I picked it back up in the past week and have been working on it almost exclusively. This is the Woodland Shawl (Ravelry Link) by Nikol Lohr. (you can click the photos to make them larger)

I’m using yarn dyed by Faerielady, who is a super awesome dyer (I wish she could do more!) and I just love it. Since it’s blue, I’ve renamed the shawl the Raindrops shawl. I think the motifs look like raindrops.

They really do don’t they??